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It was the usual madness at the boxing arena. The night was electric with excitement as dozens of people crowded the stands to see the big match, a bright full moon rising high above and lighting the arena.
The crowd yelled and cheered, the sound deafening, and the air thick with the smell of smoke and alcohol.
Hilda Berg lingered in the back of the Flytrap, trying to stay out of sight of the reporters and photographers rushing the stage.
Watching Goopy prepare to face off against the tag team of Ribby and Croaks, she couldn't hide her nervousness.
She knew how important this match was to him- how many hours of training he'd poured in every day for the past months, working himself ragged. She'd even kept him company many of these times, of course occupying herself with her own studies while he trained, but secretly enjoying her time with him.
Now that the big event was finally here, the zeppelin's heart was racing.
A bell sounded, and the crowd erupted into a frenzy.
Goopy and his opponents' eyes were locked, and they rushed each other, Ribby and Croaks both coming in from different sides for a pincer attack.
Hilda felt a pang of fear and gasped, fists clenching. Just in time, Goopy evaded the attack, leaping out of the way with his powerful jump and spinning back, gloves up and ready to strike back.
They circled each other warily, testing the other's strength as they moved around the ring.
Goopy was clearly the larger and stronger fighter, and Ribby and Croaks knew that they would have to work together to take him down.
"Ready, brother?" Asked Croaks with a grin.
"Ready!" Affirmed Ribby.
With alternating quick strikes, they tried to knock the slime off balance.
Goopy furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, and with a powerhouse move, used his superior size and strength to plow through the two of them and send them flying.
Hilda could barely stop herself from cheering with the rest of the crowd.
He was holding his own, even against the two of them! She was so excited her heart was fit to burst out of her chest!
But as Goopy has so often told her, boxing was an unpredictable sport.
Though he was big and strong, he was far from invincible. Ribby and Croaks were nimble and crafty, using tricks and feints to throw him off his game, and as the match progressed, they managed to land some nasty blows on him.
Goopy wavered, dazed for some moments and Hilda gasped, worried he was really down for the count.
But then, miraculously, he bounced back.
Quite literally.
With a powerful final blow, Goopy launched an uppercut under one frog's chin that sent him barreling right into his brother, knocking the two out cold.
"Victory to Le Grande!" Shouted the referee, and though he was battered and bruised, sure enough, Goopy was still standing.
The crowd went crazy, swarming the stage, and as he was hustled out of her sight, Hilda's smile couldn't have been bigger.
After the match, Hilda made her way down to the private room that Goopy’s manager had reserved for him at the FlyTrap. He was taking a well deserved break, so Hilda knocked gently on the door to see how he was doing. Immediately upon seeing her, the slime’s serious composure turned to one of delight.
"Hilda! Did you watch the fight?" He asked with an excited look on his face,
His face had a fair share of scratches and bruises, his lip slightly swollen.
"Of course I did," she replied with a roll of her eyes, to which he beamed.
"I really showed those silly little toads, didn't I?! Were you impressed?"
"Seemed a bit unfair to pit 2 against 1," Hilda said with some anger seeping into her voice, watching Goopy decompress from his fight. "And those guys. They played dirty."
"But still, I came out on top!" Goopy grinned, taking his boxing gloves off from his hands one by one.
Hilda's eyes widened with surprise as his bare hands were revealed to show his badly bruised and battered knuckles.
"Goopy, your hands…" she murmured with concern, voice growing soft.
Goopy looked embarrassed, quickly hiding them behind his back with a sheepish grin.
"Just comes with the job, cher," he said gently.
Hilda's face went a little red as she inhaled sharply. She didn't like that answer.
She could see him wincing a little as he moved, slowed down by the tough battle.
"Let me take a look," Hilda said, summoning a few puffs of cloud to her side and taking Goopy by the shoulder. "You don't take care of these properly, your face will be scarred for life."
"And what a tragedy it would be to lose a face as handsome as mine?" Goopy joked, but allowing her to carefully dab the soft, damp clouds across his wounds.
"Pretty smug for someone that looks like they have a foot in the grave." Hilda said, unable to hide her smile, inching closer and now gently nursing the bruise on his lip.
Goopy smirked and laughed, eyes catching hers. "No feet."
Hilda stifled a laugh and smiled, and their gazes lingered on each other for some moments while her hands lowered, lightly running her palms over his.
"Ouch…" Goopy flinched.
Hilda drew back slightly with worry.
Waving her hands again, Hilda summoned some more soft cirrus clouds from the air and this time, with a slow spinning motion, she wound the clouds around Goopy's hands, layer by layer like candyfloss, dressing them in the softest of bandages.
"How's that?" She asked quietly, adding a second layer of fluffier clouds to form a bouncy glove for extra protection.
"It's beautiful!" Goopy exclaimed, beaming with his eyes bright. "C'est magnifique! You truly are an artist, Hilda!" He squeezed her smaller hands in his, smiling his winning smile.
Hilda blushed then, flattered by his words.
"Well, be more careful next time, you big buffoon," she said, dazzled once again by his sweet and gentlemanly composure.
"Heh." He chuckled, and her eyes met his again, this time lingering longer. The friendly squeeze from his hands turned to a drawn out hold, a clutch of the fingers, a soft caress.
Hilda's heart raced in her chest, cheeks turning red again. Goopy's smile was
"Does it hurt anywhere else?" She asked softly.
"Well, now that you mention it…They clocked me pretty good right in the mouth.” Goopy paused for a second.
“Think you could kiss it better?”
Hilda’s face turned bright red and her jaw dropped, her weathervane starting to spin like a gale force wind had blown through it.
“Y-You-! Idiot-!” She spouted indignantly. “I oughta-!”
“Oh, you’re all thunder and no lightning,” Goopy smiled, waving her threat off. “It was just a joke, cher. I’m feeling better than ever now, thanks to you. You’re the best friend a slime could ever ask for.”
Hilda tried to return his smile. But inside her emotions were running wild. What was she supposed to say?
“I don’t want to keep you too long,” Goopy said after a few minutes of rummaging through his things, “I still have to go see my manager. Talk to the press. You know the drill.”
“Right.” Hilda said awkwardly, turning to leave.
“Oh. And Hilda.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks!” Goopy waved goodbye with his new, billowing gloves of cloud and gave her a bright smile. “I love them! Might just have to make them permanent!”
Hilda’s heart never felt lighter.
Maybe next time, if he won without so much as a scratch on him, he would get that kiss.